I must say that after watching this childhood time-stealer, I found it a little underdeveloped. Hades and his sidekicks pain and panic have become more entertaining over the years while Hercules, Zeus and Megara have worn out a little. Mostly Herc whose conflict is as generic as can be. The visual style is unique to put it neutrally. I personally think it is the ugliest of the Disney renaissance era, but that's not the main problem with this movie. Its uninteresting characters are the problem as I stated in the beginning. Hades makes this movie worth watching and he gets a laugh out of me every time he is on screen and that is great.Despite its problems it has spawned one of my favorite Disney songs, though. "I Won't Say I'm In Love" is a really catchy tune and along with "Go The Distance" the most memorable songs in the movie. Maybe Hercules' unique visual style and the standout performance of James Woods as Hades serves in its favor to make it memorable. Just the weirdness of it in general.One of my least favorite movies from the Disney renaissance, but I can appreciate its existence.

Today to my 23 years I saw this movie with very low expectation since as a kid Disney did not steal my heart and I have to say that I love it. The songs, the plot, the characters, spectacular, I have given 10/10 and exceeded my expectations as an adult, I do not want to imagine how I would have felt if I had seen it in its premiere, when I was just a child, I definitely love it. Until the moments "The best movie of Disney", in my opinion.

I first saw this as a child and didn't remember much. After I saw it for the second time with fellow college freshmen, I realized that Disney put so many puns and references in its version of the Greek myth we know as Hercules. Of course my mind screamed out at me all of the contradictions with the actual mythology -- like there were more than just 4 Titans and they weren't elemental creatures that could easily take down the Olympians. Anyways, the movie is very funny, I laughed a lot, like when some character says "call IXII" and you realize that it's 911 in Roman numerals. I feel like many Disney movies, in the same way, make modern references that are anachronistic with their settings; like especially for Hades, who does not talk like an ancient god of the underworld but is very sardonic and speaks like we modern folk. As a whole, Hercules is not a super well-made film, it's a cliché love at first sight story and a journey to find oneself. After all, so much of fiction is about finding one's identity. It's also about heroism. What does it mean to be a hero? If you've read the Percy Jackson series, which by the way is a great way to learn about the Greek myths, then most likely you'll see so many flaws in this movie but still, it's hilarious, the soundtrack (kudos to Alan Menken) is amazing and nice to sing along to if you know the words, and you leave with a nice warm feeling. Go the distance!

Hercules visibly diverges from the darkness of its Greek mythology source material for a brighter, more hopeful tale. It posits that a hero is not just someone who does heroic deeds but can also place himself in front of others and sacrifice his own well-being for those who need it more. Pretty simply, sappy Hollywood stuff. But it works marvellously. Disney do not ever hold back on the camp, which is perhaps why it is able to be digested and enjoyed so easily. The gods of the Olympus are all clearly drawn, multicoloured caricatures - not withholding the power couple themselves, Zeus with his hulking, bulging muscles and the stick-thin, bright pink Hera. The sarcastic yet sultry Megara is animated in a way that is not subtle about each exaggerated swing of her hips, and it is enough to make Herc and other young boys' jaws drop. The scene-stealer is James Woods' Hades, who could have been brooding and muttering darkly from the shadows, but bursts into fits of rage and quips like a comedian gone mad. Too many adaptations have made Hades into a dark, humourless character, a baddie played straight. Woods brings attitude, and a fiery temper matched only by his quick wit. The same subversion is applied to the opening narration. Of course Disney would never let this be a mopey, grim story with dark undercurrents and pessimistic endeavours. The regularly employ the bait and stitch, drawing on the audience's knowledge of these tales and then pulling the rug from right under us. The best and funniest example of this happens at the climatic sacrifice on Hercules' part; he dives into Styx, wading through dead souls and withering away right before our eyes. Quiet a shock from the ever-grinning, bouncing action figure that has dominated much of the film. This is intercut with the Fates inching closer and closer to his life-line, the music ominously building...until they actually try to cut it and it just won't snap and they descend into mayhem in forcing the issue. A less inspired example would be the glowing Hercules abruptly caving in Hades' face without the slightest acknowledgement of the slapstick manner of the moment. Of course, nostalgia plays his part. I find myself noticing things that I had not previously. The film could have used another half hour; stretch out his young, fish-out-of-water existence, or the training montage that leads him to become an over-excited action figure. The CGI Hydra is an unavoidable element, and clashes so horribly with the rest of the clean-cut animation (though they have merged some of Herc's sword swings well). And there is one thing that most kids would not notice. The animation of the facial expressions is at times quite bizarre; it is like when you pause a video and inexplicably create a funny, morphed face, only these don't need pausing to pop up. It does not take too much away because the film's zaniness never slows down enough to be sensible. And the songs are still great. Go the Distance is intimate enough for Hercules, but targets a universal feeling that we all know too well.